1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to electronically-activated locks. In particular, such locks are suitable for locking access doors, more particularly still the locks are suitable for locking access door on containers, such as containers for holding packages that are delivered or collected in the absence of the recipient. The invention also relates to associated methods for locking and unlocking such locks, a server for processing requests to unlock such locks and a system for locking and unlocking the locks.
2. Related Art
Receiving goods via home or small office delivery is becoming increasingly common with the advent of online shopping. However, such deliveries are typically made during normal working hours, therefore if the recipient if not normally at home during such times, a problem exists in that there will be no one available to receive the goods. Moreover if goods need to be collected, for example to return them to a vendor, then a similar problem exists in the absence of the sender.
Typically, in such circumstances a delivery person will usually opt to deliver the goods to a neighbour, leave the goods in an unsecured location or simply not deliver. None of these solutions is ideal from the point of view of either the deliverer or the recipient. If the goods are delivered to a neighbour the recipient must then find the neighbour whilst they are in, in order to actually receive the goods. If the goods are left in an unsecured location, then there exists the possibility that the goods will be stolen or damaged before the recipient retrieves them. If the goods are not delivered then typically, the recipient will have to arrange to collect the goods at a suitable time. Throughout this application, the term goods and package are used interchangeably, and are intended to cover an item that is left as a delivery or for later collection.
Solutions to this problem exist in the form of secure delivery boxes that are located, for example, at railway stations. The delivery person can then leave the goods in a secure box, and the recipient can be supplied with a code or key to open the box. This lacks the convenience of delivery to the recipient's home, and if the goods are heavy or bulky it may be difficult to then transport them back home.
Secure delivery boxes for the home also exist, and typically take two general forms. Either the box has some form of delivery chute to allow a delivery person to deposit goods in the box but not to remove goods from the box, or alternatively the box contains some form of electronic lock to allow a delivery person to open the box using a code and deposit the goods.
Boxes with delivery chutes typically must be very large to allow large packages to be delivered since typically the chute must be of comparable size to the box. In addition, if the box is already full then delivery of a further package will not be possible. Further no delivery tracking is usually possible. Moreover, such boxes cannot be used to store packages for collection since the person collecting the package has no access to the box.
Boxes with electronic locks have the problem that access codes must be changed periodically to prevent undesired access to the box. Without a connection to a computer network, the changing of the codes must be done whilst the user is at home, and also knowledge of the status of the box (e.g. full or empty) or of the access history (who opened the box and at what time) will not generally be known. Typically, it is costly and difficult to provide such a connection to a delivery box, and in addition such a connection will usually also require the provision of an external source of power. Moreover, both types of box do not permit a “signed for” delivery or collection, and so a delivery that requires such a signature cannot be made.
It is an aim of the present invention to solve or mitigate at least some of the above-described problems.